That Touchy-Feely Crap
by Ruby Red-ink
Summary: Because you can't spend 20 years with someone and not have some kind of feelings towards them. A series of one-shots in no particular order of Peter's life with Yondu and the Ravagers/Some OOC-ness perhaps, rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

It was only after things finally settled down and Rocket, Drax and Groot agreed to come aboard _the Eclector_ to discuss battle strategy that Gamora found herself relishing a brief moment of peace and quiet. Not that such a thing lasted overly long on a Ravager ship.

"Girl! I got a bone to pick with you," Yondu's raspy drawl called to her as the Centaurian himself made his way to her secluded corner.

She raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

He strode up to her — purpose and power radiating from him in waves, red mohawk glowing slightly — and invaded her personal space. She never noticed how bright red his eyes could be.

"You ever let my boy do somethin' that stupid again, I'll fill ya so full o' holes they can use ya for a sieve!"

"To which stupid thing are you referring? Quill has done many in the short time I've known him."

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talkin' about. He dang near died out there for you! He decided to throw his lot in with you idiots and first crack outta the box he up and tries to die!" He emphasized his point by poking her in the shoulder. It was a testament to how blindsided she was by the direction of this conversation that she didn't immediately move to break his hand for that.

"I did not ask him—"

"I don't give two flyin' craps if you didn't ask him to. In case it's escaped yer notice, young Mr. Quill has a hero complex that crops up at the worst of times. Despite the 20 years I spent raisin' 'im, never could knock it out of him. Boy don't know his limits, thinks he has to save anyone that's even kinda nice to 'im. It's up to the rest of us to know for 'im."

He whistled and his arrow hovered in the air between them. "I should kill you where you stand for that."

She scoffed at him. "From what I have seen of the interactions between you and Peter, you do not care if he lives or dies. So why should you care if he wants to risk his life for me or anyone else?"

Yondu physically deflated, all fire gone, arrow returning to its holster. He leaned against the wall and briefly closed his eyes. He opened them to look at her and what she saw there made her gasp. Regret, hurt, worry and something she was hesitant to call love.

"Quill ever tell ya how it was a Terran like him came to be a Ravager?"

Gamora shook her head no and opted to lean against the wall beside him, arms crossed.

"We was hired to pick him up and deliver him to some planet on the other side of the galaxy. After we found him, I contacted the guy and found out what he wanted the kid for. Didn't much like what I heard, he was a jackass and didn't pay nothin' anyway, so I decided to keep the boy instead.

"Some of the crew didn't take too kindly to havin' a Terran ankle-biter on board and tried to get rid of him a couple-a times. 'Course you don't get made Ravager captain without makin' a few tough choices, so I threw those guys out the air lock. Don't have any use for Ravagers who ain't loyal anyway and even back then, Quill more'n proved his worth. Always was a good kid, dang good Ravager too. Taught 'im everything I know."

Gamora was quiet for minute, taking in what she learned.

"What you mean to say, I think, is that you raised him…as a father would raise his son."

"Now I ain't sayin' nothin' like that—"

Gamora smiled at his defensiveness. "You can't take it back now. It's okay to admit that you care for him. You would have to, to threaten me. No one else would be suicidal enough to threaten an assassin raised by Thanos."

Yondu chuckled. "Assassin huh? Quill sure knows how to pick 'em."

She smiled again and nodded. "We are an eclectic group to be sure. But he is the one that holds us all together somehow."

"Yeah, that's Quill for ya, most complicated simpleton you'll ever meet. 'Bout time for you to meet with the rest of 'em and go over this brilliant plan o' his. Do me a favor, will ya?"

Gamora placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I will endeavor to ensure he does not try to sacrifice himself for anyone. But I can't make any promises. He is very stubborn," she finished with a fond smile.

"Just like his old man," Yondu replied with a jagged grin.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I think I got a little overzealous in posting the first chapter, as I forgot to put the scene I wrote in context with anything else. In case it wasn't clear, I wrote chapter 1 as a missing scene in Guardians just after Yondu pulled Peter and Gamora onto the Ravager ship from space. Hope that makes more sense now. As for this chapter, it starts off canon-ish after Yondu kills all the Sakaarans but takes a sharp left into AU-ville that I just couldn't pass up the chance in writing. Gruff-caring Yondu is the best Yondu.**

Having dispatched the group of Sakaaran soldiers that attempted to kill him, Yondu turned his full attention back to the battle happening above him. Or rather, it was above the city now and quickly making its way closer to the surface as the Dark Aster fell from the sky. For a brief moment, he was proud of Peter for taking it down, before reality set in and he realized that his Terran wasn't likely to survive a crash like that.

Cursing his wrecked M-ship for the millionth time, Yondu sprinted towards the city and the site of the crashing ship.

 _Quill, I don't know what kinda DNA you got from your dad, but it best keep you alive. Least that jackass could do somethin' for ya._

He talked to Peter the whole way there, threatening, begging, and threatening some more; _kid better be alive when I get there, or so help me…_

Finally, he made it to the edge of the crater, the Dark Aster a sprawling mess in the center of it. His Ravagers, the ones still capable of doing so, were standing around, watching the show below them. And what a show it was: purple and black smoke and light weaving and twisting in a massive cloud that obscured everything within. Yondu spotted his first mate Kraglin and nudged him, asking for an explanation.

"Quill in there?" He knew, Odin help him, he knew.

"Yeah," he chuckled a little, recalling what he'd just witnessed. "Quill initiated a dance off to keep Ronan distracted while the rat fixed that big gun o' his. Drax blasted apart Ronan's hammer, the stone flew out of it and Quill and Ronan went for it. Pete got there first and all hell broke loose. Ain't nobody knows what's goin' on in that cloud now though."

Years of being Ravager captain kept Yondu from completely reeling at the thought that his boy had just grabbed hold of one of the most dangerous and powerful objects in the universe. But oh how he wanted to let his weak knees take him down. His boy. Would he lose him for good today?

No, he decided. He raised him. That boy is strong, no matter that Yondu himself accused him of being soft. Quill may have a soft heart like his Terran mother, but real strength, Yondu firmly believed he gave him that.

"Come on boy. Come on," Yondu muttered to himself.

Kraglin glanced to his captain and back to the cloud, what would happen if Quill didn't survive this? He briefly remembered a time when the boy's life had almost been taken. Still quite young on the Ravager ship when an alien sickness took hold of his little Terran body. Kraglin became temporary captain as Yondu watched over the boy. Young Peter seemed to fair better with the blue hand of his captain touching him somewhere: running through his hair, grasping his arm — he somehow kept him tethered to life and Peter eventually recovered.

The medic neglected to inform Peter how close to death he really was. But Kraglin knew, Yondu too. Kraglin had never seen his captain look so lost, never seen him so quiet or still than when he kept vigil next to a dying Terran boy. He hoped to never see what further reaction would occur should Peter ever go where the Centaurian could not follow and drag him back.

Suddenly, the smoky cloud dissipated and there stood the guardians with no Ronan in sight. Yondu allowed himself a quick exhale of relief before he made his way over to them. His practiced leisurely stroll turned into an all out sprint however when Peter abruptly crumpled to the ground, his friends all calling out to him at once.

Despite the rest of them standing literally within arm's reach, Yondu reached Peter first, crouching down next to his unnervingly still body. His hand still clutching the sphere containing the stone but he remains essentially lifeless. Yondu checks his neck for a pulse and visibly relaxes when he finds one, however weak it may be it means he hasn't left yet.

He ran his hands over Peter's forehead and over his hair, a motion to sooth them both. "Don't you die on me now kid, not now. You gotta stick around, I still gotta couple things to teach ya and you got a whole lot'a livin' left to do yet.

"Kraglin, see what you and the boys can do 'bout puttin' together a stretcher to carry him on. Hopefully there's a medical center 'round here that didn't get blown to smithereens."

"Is he okay?" Gamora asked, somewhat tentatively for an assassin.

"Don't know much just yet girl. Just that his heart's still beatin' and he's still breathin'. You was in that cloud with 'im. Care to fill me in?"

She shifted on her feet before deciding to sit on the other side of Peter, taking the orb from his limp hand as she spoke.

"He had the stone in his hand for so long. Which isn't possible, he's Terran. It should have destroyed him in seconds. But he accepted that, or didn't even think about it, in order to keep Ronan away from it. The rest of us eventually joined him and took on some of the power of the stone, enough for Peter to control it and put an absolute end to Ronan.

"I don't know how he did it. The second I took Peter's hand I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out, slowly and quickly, burning and freezing, I could feel every piece of me falling away, though it lessened once Drax and Rocket joined us. Even now, I am very weary. And that is unusual for someone with my modifications. I cannot imagine how it was for Peter," she finished, her voice soft and cracking, and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Cap'n, stretcher's all ready to go. Locals say there's a medical center still standing not far from here, they're already taking people in. I imagine they'll be givin' special treatment for the great Star-Lord," Kraglin said with a smirk.

Yondu nodded but didn't acknowledge the joke. " 'Ey, muscles, can you help me lift 'im?" Drax nodded and moved to gently lift Peter's legs as Yondu wrapped his arms around Peter's torso, they placed him on the stretcher and Kraglin and three other Ravagers moved without question to pick up the four corners and carry their favorite son. Yondu walked right beside them the entire way with the rest of the Guardians and Ravagers following close behind.

They took Peter to examine immediately, the rest gotten to one at a time for assessment; amongst the assorted injuries, a myriad of bruises and scrapes, a few broken bones here and there, already beginning to heal in some, and bone-deep exhaustion running rampant. Yondu, having escaped any major injury, stayed in the waiting room trying to keep himself from fidgeting or pacing. A lifetime later, the others suitably bandaged, drugged, and released, the head medic entered with news for the family of one Peter Jason Quill.

"Are you family?" The medic asked.

Yondu glanced around at the conglomeration of beings packed into the room, Ravagers and Guardians alike, and responded with a shrug, "Close enough. We're all he's got. Now what can you tell me 'bout my boy?"

The medic cleared his throat and flipped through the chart in his hands.

"Mr. Quill has been through quite a lot in the past few hours it would seem. Several cracked ribs, fortunately none splintered to puncture his lungs, deep tissue bruising all over his back and torso, a mild concussion, it seems the helmet he wore protected him from the worst there. The most distressing issue is that his body has literally been exhausted to the point of near death. Almost as if it has had no rest in over a week. His organs were near shutdown mode, his brain and heart barely functioning."

The medic took a breath to settle himself. "Fortunately, he was brought in and treated fairly quickly, everything is mending as it should be, but he will remain unconscious for another few days to aid in the recovery process. You are welcome to sit with him and keep him company, but do not expect him to wake any time soon. The room is small and filled with much machinery, so please, no more than 2 or 3 at a time. I will give you a few moments to discuss it then lead whomever to his room." He stepped away finally to the desk across the room, allowing them whatever semblance of privacy possible.

Yondu could feel his knees shaking again, whether from fear or relief it was unclear. Could be both. He looked around, daring any of them to challenge his right to be in there with Peter. Gamora stepped forward, silently staking her claim to join him.

Drax and Rocket looked at each other before Rocket solved the problem for them. "You go ahead man, I don't do so good with places like this." His tail has been puffed out since their arrival and had yet to settle.

Drax nodded and stepped to join Gamora and Yondu. They walked silently down the hall to the last room on the right. Yondu entered immediately, the other two hovered in the doorway. A chair sat ready at his bedside; Yondu claimed it and placed his hand across Peter's forehead.

"Hey there son. Heard tell you gave a pretty good shot at dyin' out there. Grabbin' 'hold'a that stone was awful stupid of ya boy. Good thing they said you was gonna survive this…cuz I'm gonna kill ya later for doin' that. Gotta wait 'til yer all better and backtalkin' me first though.

"Reckon you got a fair point 'bout that stone. Ain't nobody should have it. Think yer assassin girl nabbed it to hand over to Nova corps, so don't you go worryin' 'bout that. You just get better son. Yer other friends are fine, save that big walkin' tree. Wish I could give ya better news 'bout him. Yer gonna hafta tell me how that happened when ya wake up.

"Now you just rest Quill, I ain't goin' nowhere, ain't nobody gonna get atcha while I'm here. Couple'a yer friends are here too. S'pose I should let 'em in. You just come back soon son, we'll be waitin'."

Yondu stood up and pressed his forehead to Peter's. A gesture he hadn't initiated since Peter was just a scrawny kid full of absolute terror thinly veiled by showy bravery; when the boy needed reassurance and someone safe to turn to when his nightmares became too much; when it was just the two of them and Yondu could assume the role as father that young Peter desperately needed.

He sat back down again and turned to nod the other two into the room, knowing all the time that they'd watched the interaction. If these were to be Peter's new allies, they needed to understand that Yondu automatically came with him, like it or not.

Gamora cautiously took a seat on Peter's other side on a small open space on the bed, cradling his hand in both of hers. Drax leaned against the wall at the foot of the bed, his eyes taking in every machine hooked into his friend.

Many of the others took turns to come visit; some brought things to set around, little knick-knacks and the like. Someone had even managed to find Quill's Walkman and had the headphones wrapped carefully around his neck and the familiar sounds of "Awesome mix vol. I" playing softly. Yondu continued his vigil, leaving the chair just long enough for a quick break. No one dared to take his spot while it was empty, all knowing he would return to it soon enough.

Drax and Gamora eventually talked Rocket into visiting, but it was only after the pieces of Groot were gathered together and he had planted one of his twigs. Yondu suggested it, thinking maybe it would help in some way. Groot's species was one that few knew much of anything about. Rocket didn't say anything, just placed the paw not currently carrying around Groots pot on Quill's hand, squeezing momentarily and walking away to the far corner of the room.

Days passed, as they said they would, and very little visibly changed for Peter Quill. On the third morning of his stay in the medical center, Yondu was once again seated in the chair by the bed, his booted feet propped up alongside Peter, gently touching him so as to be more aware of any movements and dozing as comfortably as he could be. A hand clumsily landing on one of his boots broke him quickly from his light sleep. He sat up, eyes wide.

"Peter? You awake there boy?"

It took quite a bit longer than he would have liked, but eventually there was a response.

"Hey Yondu, m'I dead? Ain't called me Peter in a long time." Peter's voice was rough and slurred in spots.

Yondu quickly pressed a button on the side of Peter's bed to alert the staff he was awake.

"Nope, ya ain't dead yet. But you came dang close to it. I'd smack you upside the head if you weren't already lookin' so pathetic."

Peter chuckled and winced but wasn't able to retaliate before the arrival of the medic and his subsequent questions and examinations. Yondu took his cue and moved out of the way, allowing them all the room they needed but staying close enough to hear the update on Peter's physical condition.

"Well Mr. Quill, it seems the most serious issues have been taken care of. Your ribs are almost healed and your body has finally gotten enough rest, though I suspect you will likely be easily tired in the next week or so. You'll also experience quite a bit of soreness for a couple days yet. I see no reason why you can't be discharged tomorrow however, as long as nothing happens before then and as long as you have a place to stay and recover."

"Um about that, my ship kinda —"

"He's got a place doc, he'll be stayin' with me," Yondu spoke up for the first time since the medic's arrival.

Peter raised an eyebrow in question but decided to discuss it later.

"That's good then. You're all set. I'll have someone bring you some ice chips; I'd rather wait a few hours before giving you anything more substantial. Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything." With that, the medic left, nodding at Yondu on the way out.

Yondu moved back into his previous position, boots on the bed and all.

"So," Peter's voice captured his attention. "I'm staying with you huh?"

"And where else would ya go kid? Yer ship's in pieces right now and besides, yer gonna need someone to make sure you don't do nothin' stupid while you finish recoverin'. I don't trust yer new friends to do that just yet."

Peter huffed and tightly crossed his arms across his torso, regretting it instantly when the movement jarred his still sore ribs. He was too stubborn to loosen them after the fact and tried to just wait out the pain. He didn't expect the blue hand to grasp his wrist and move the arm back down to his side. Peter looked at Yondu but couldn't formulate the question bouncing around in his head. Yondu answered him anyway.

"See? You gotta have somebody more stubborn than you to take care of ya," Yondu wouldn't look him in the eye while he spoke. "You almost died on me boy, and I ain't lettin' you do that again. Not while I'm still breathin' anyway."

"Parents aren't supposed to bury their children," Peter's soft voice reached his ears and he snapped his head up to look at him. His eyes were shut, picturing memories long past. "I used to hear my grandparents talking to each other at night when my mom was in the hospital. They knew she wasn't going to make it, but I think I was still too young to get it. I heard my grandfather say that. I figure he had a good point," he finished, opening his eyes to look at the man beside him, his father for all intents and purposes.

Yondu cleared his throat, though his voice when he spoke was still raspier than usual. "Yeah, he had a good point son."

If Peter noticed that Yondu's red eyes were just a bit shinier, he didn't comment on it. Just closed his eyes again and drifted back off to sleep, a warm blue hand easing the hair back from his forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

The planet where they are currently docked has an official name, but 12 year old Peter Jason Quill finds it unpronounceable and just simply calls it _Hellhole 5._ Kraglin smirks at him when he says it, ever amused by the antics of their resident Terran.

This job is meant to be Peter's first as part of the away team. Most of the Ravagers stay on _The Eclector_ to keep it in orbit and provide backup if necessary. That was always where Peter was told to stay, _to keep you outta trouble and offa my last nerve_ Yondu told him.

This time however, Yondu finally relented to Peter's incessant badgering to take him along; promising to stay quiet and to follow every order. Kraglin snuck him a small blaster to keep hidden in his jacket, _can't be a real Ravager 'less you gotta weapon to go with the name._

Peter practically vibrates with excitement as Yondu leads the small team off his M-ship and onto the brown near-wasteland of the planet. The meeting with the intermediary is to take place in the dingy bar at the edge of town and given how easy it is supposed to go, Yondu only brought Kraglin, Peter, and two others along with him. Couldn't fit too many in a joint like that anyway.

Yondu had unofficially assigned Kraglin to keep an eye on the kid while they were off ship. He already followed him around and seemed to listen to him a bit better than anyone else, and Kraglin was one of the only ones who wasn't flat out annoyed by Peter anyway.

They enter the bar and Peter immediately wrinkles his nose at the smell, or smells. It's difficult to stop and focus on just one and they are all terrible. Yondu makes his way to the very back, though another door and into a back room. At the table sits their contact: he is short, barely taller than Peter, almost as round as he is tall, and the most interesting shade of purple with jet black, close-cropped hair. He is mostly humanoid, though each of his two hands has two extra digits. Peter can't help but think those would come in handy playing video games.

He looks around the room as Yondu approaches the table, the rest of them hanging back. There are three others in the room, all congregated in the far corner. One seated and the other two flanking him. Peter wonders if this is the guy they are doing the job for. He seems the type: flashy, white suit, well-muscled guards, and something else that he couldn't put his finger on, but he didn't like it whatever it was. Hard to tell much more with his face in shadow.

"Yondu Udonta, it has been a while," the purple man speaks, startling Peter with how high-pitched it was. He bites the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the contrast.

Yondu makes it a point to remain standing, despite the chair that obviously awaited him.

"Frisk, good to see ya. Though I don't usually meet the clients face-to-face, you know that. What's he doin' here?" He asks, jabbing his thumb towards the occupied corner.

"Ah well, Yondu, this is a delicate job. Mr. Xahn wanted to assess you personally."

"That so?" he looks to the seated man across the room. "Mr. Xahn right? Anythin' you wanna tell me? Frisk here told me this was a quick in-and-out grab. That true?"

Mr. Xahn leans forward and Peter recoils into the Ravager behind him. He has bright red skin and a row of horns on either side of his head. He could just make out the tail-end of a thin black braid that hangs from somewhere on the back of his head, as the top is completely bald. Peter thoroughly believes he is looking at the devil himself.

"Mr Udonta," his voice is deep and seems to reverberate through the room. "Frisk speaks truth. This should be a very simple thing for someone of your reputation, but what you are to retrieve is something of great importance to me. I wanted to be sure that you had the…proper motivation to see this job though as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Yondu scoffs. "We ain't never had a problem before, don't see how we'd have one now."

Xahn laughs, deep and gravely. "Good to hear, yes, very good. What you are retrieving is of little value to many, but is greatly important to me. Frisk has everything you will need to know about the location of the object. Fortunately for all of us, it is on the adjacent planet. So you need not travel far."

Yondu swipes the pad off the table and flips through each holo: a detailed floor plan, blueprints for the grounds and the building as a whole, guard rotations, alarm and video feed locations.

"Well, this is some pretty good info ya got here. Where'd ya get it?"

Xahn smirks and a chill travels down Peter's spine. "I know a guy."

Peter taps Kraglin's hand, just light enough to gain his attention. He glances down at him and Peter tries his best to convey what he's feeling without having to voice it. Kraglin seems to understand, at least to an extent, and nods.

"Care to share with the rest of us Cap'n?" Kraglin hopes Yondu doesn't take offense to the interruption. Yondu glances his way, seeing that his first mate had something to speak with him about.

"'Scuse us, just gotta run through some quick ideas with my first mate here."

He gets as close as possible to the group, which encloses and winds up circling around young Peter.

"Problem?" Yondu asks, glancing around.

Kraglin speaks up "Peter here's got a bad feeling 'bout this guy. Gotta say as I agree with him Cap'n. Su'im don't feel right."

Yondu sighs, "Yer right, I don't like it either. Pay's pretty good for this job, but I'm thinkin' we can get by without it. Whatcha say boys?"

The rest of the group nods their consent, Peter quite vigorously, whether his vote counts or not. Yondu affirms it and turns back to the room.

"We've discussed the situation here and I havta say we're just not interested. I'm sure ya can find someone else to do the job." He lays the pad back on the table and backs a couple steps away, giving him ample space to survey the room. Because the youngest member of his crew had it right, there is something very wrong about this job and he wants to be prepared for anything.

"Well that's certainly a pity. But I do understand. Thank you for your time Mr. Udonta." Xahn leans back into the shadows and seems to dismiss them entirely.

Yondu watches the corner and throws his hand over his shoulder, waving the Ravagers out the door ahead of him. He refused to turn his back on the room. Back in the bar, a glass crashes to the floor, effectively distracting them all for a brief second. A second too long it would seem as when they all look back, they are short one Ravager. Yondu and Kraglin simultaneously whip their heads around to the room they had just left, and there in the corner sits a smug Xahn next to a body guard grappling a struggling Terran in his arms. Xahn reaches up and grabs Peter's face in one sharply clawed hand.

"I'm afraid I really do need you to retrieve my trinket for me. And it seems I have found the proper motivation. Awfully foolish to have brought one so young with you. They are so delicate at this age," he says releasing Peter's face only to drag his nails across his cheek, leaving three quickly bleeding scratches in their wake. To the boy's credit, he doesn't cry out, but his eyes water and he kicks even harder at his captor.

Yondu growls deeply. "You leave the boy outta this. He ain't got nothin' to do with it. Ain't even a Ravager yet, we keep 'im around more for entertainment than anything. Be a shame for the crew to lose somethin' like that." He realizes too late that his anger already showed his feelings toward Peter.

"Somehow I don't believe you, Ravager. Get me what I asked for, and no further harm will come to your…pet. But I will be keeping it here, just to make sure you do as you're told. Hurry now, there's no telling what could happen if you were to take too long," he grins, gleaming white teeth sharp and malicious.

While they stare each other down, Peter remembers the blaster that Kraglin had given him and notices that beefy bodyguard #1 has a grip around Peter's arms and a hand grasping tightly to his throat but left his hands loose. He keeps up the pretense of kicking his legs out and moves his hands around to counterbalance, all the while inching his right towards his jacket pocket. Yondu starts speaking again, but Peter doesn't catch a word, he is too focused on his partially formed plan and trying not to pass out from lack of oxygen. He grabs a hold of the weapon, yanks it from his pocket and shoots his captor in the knee. Peter drops to the floor and darts as quickly as possible to the other side of the room.

Chaos erupts a nanosecond later. Yondu whistles his arrow to immediately hover in between Xahn's eyes, while the other Ravagers fire their blasters at his two guards, both going down entirely unconscious and potentially dead. Kraglin moves to train his blaster on Frisk, just in case.

Xahn keeps his eyes focued on the arrow but clearly understands that moving or speaking at the moment would be a bad idea.

"Quill, you alright boy?" Yondu yells.

A mess of red-blonde hair pops up from behind a chair on the far side of the room. He flashes a thumbs up then drops back down to lean against the wall, trying to get his breathing back under control.

Good enough for Yondu, he turns his full attention to the man in the corner.

"You really screwed up, layin' hands on my boy."

Kraglin speaks up as well. "Cap'n don't take too kindly to that. And neither do we."

"Got anythin' to say to keep me from drillin' a hole straight through to the other side of your skull?"

For the first time since they had arrived, the devil in white looks scared. "I-it was just business." His bravado returns a bit; anger momentarily replacing fear. "What's it to you anyway if the thing dies? It's not big enough to pull any real weight around your ship and it's clearly no relation! Completely useless to keep someth—"

He doesn't quite get the rest of that sentence out as Yondu's shrill whistle drives his yaka arrow straight through Mr. Xahn's head, leaving a perfectly circular hole right between his eyes.

"My boy ain't no _thing_ ," Yondu mutters to the corpse, kicking it for good measure as he walks by. He calls his arrow back as he makes his way to where he'd last seen the little Terran.

"'Ey Cap'n, what 'bout Frisk here?" Kraglin calls, blaster still trained on the slightly shaking purple man.

Yondu pauses in his walk to answer. "Eh let 'im go. Frisk won't do nothin', will ya Frisk?"

"N-n-no, Captain Udonta. I would v-very much like to l-leave however."

Yondu nods at Kraglin to drop his weapon, who then jerkily motions for Frisk to beat it, leaving just a room of Ravagers behind.

Yondu is as cautious as he could manage while approaching Peter, he doesn't want to spook the kid.

"Hey there Quill, y'alright son?"

Peter is still sitting against the wall taking deep breaths, relishing his ability to do so. He nods, but neglects to speak. Yondu looks the boy over as he crouches in front of him. Peter's right hand is bone white, clutching the blaster he'd used to defend himself. The other is clenched tight in the fabric of his pants. The scratches along his cheek don't appear too deep, but are sluggishly bleeding, drops of which were making their way down his pale face and to his shirt. Yondu briefly sees red as he takes in Peter's face, and even more so when he sees the darkening necklace of bruises around his throat. _Real shame I can't kill 'im twice._

He shoves his anger down deep; it would do little to help him now. "You ready to go home boy?"

Yondu doesn't wait for his response; he gently takes Peter's hand in his and pries the stiff fingers loose, releasing his now trusty blaster and pocketing it to give back later. Yondu leads Peter into standing and then waits just to make sure he won't black out or anything. He thinks a minute, observing the obviously still shocked boy in front of him.

"Tell ya what, kid. Just this once, I'll give ya a ride." He crouches again, turning his back to Peter to show him what he meant.

"You sure?" He croaks, though his voice is quiet.

"Yeah I'm sure. Hurry up 'fore I change my mind."

Peter complies, wrapping his skinny arms and legs around Yondu's neck and torso, surprisingly light and gentle for a 12 year old boy.

"Thank you," responds a very tentative and still raspy voice behind him.

"You gon sound like me now, ey boy?" Yondu feels a puff of air against the back of his neck and knows he'd managed to get a laugh.

The Ravager captain hefts his load once to make sure he is secure and then makes his way out of the room, nodding to the rest of his crew to follow along. Kraglin catches up, expecting to receive orders of some sort.

"Keep an eye out. I wouldn't put it past 'im to have another couple'a armed guards here in the bar or just outside. I wanna get the kid back to the ship as quick as possible, make sure he don't get some weird infection in those scratches."

"You got it Cap'n. Move out and keep yer eyes peeled."

The small group moves swiftly out of the bar and out of town, happily leaving it behind. As they approach the M-ship they'd arrived on, Yondu hears a stifled laugh from his first mate.

"Somethin' funny Kraglin?"

"Just Peter's nickname for the planet…it does seem to fit, don't it Cap'n?"

 _Hellhole 5, yeah that about covers it._

They arrive at the ship and Kraglin immediately moves to get it off the ground and back to _The Eclector_. Yondu glances around at his Terran backpack only to grin when he notices the kid has nodded off. He motions to one of the other crew members to help him lay the boy down. He walks away to help his first mate finish with the start up sequence, but Peter's small hand latches onto his and he whimpers for a second at the loss of contact. Yondu may have been a jerk most of the time, but he wasn't completely heartless. He sits down on the floor of the ship, back against the bench Peter is sleeping on, letting the Terran keep a hold on his hand. _Just this once_.

Hours later, little Peter Quill wakes up in what the Ravagers passably called the med-bay, more or less a room close-ish to the engine that remained sterile from its lack of use. He can feel the sticky gel-glue they used to clean and heal the cuts on his face and his throat is already feeling less raw. All of this he expected once he realized where he was. What was unexpected was finding the Ravager captain lounging in a chair next to his bed, his hand outstretched and cradling Peter's own.

The boy smiles, grateful that Yondu's kindness hadn't been a dream. He lays back down, eager to rejoin his captain in a well-deserved long rest.


End file.
